A Family Gathering

Last Saturday Alejandro, Sandra, Ezra and I attended a family gathering at the home of their relative Pipo.  In the English-speaking world, Pipo would be Alejandro's first cousin once removed since he is the son of Alejandro's first cousin Silvia.  However, in Mexico, or at least in Alejandro's family, they don't bother with all the complicated terminology for cousins.  Only first cousins are called cousins.  Alejandro refers to Pipo as his nephew.

Pipo (which by the way, is a nickname for Felipe) lives in the outskirts of Pachuca, the capital of the state of Hidalgo.  It was about two hour drive for us from Mexico City.  The get-together was to celebrate Pipo's birthday (or at least the weekend closest to his birthday).  It was also a chance for Pipo to show off the new house that he recently bought.

As is normal for family gatherings in Mexico, the table was filled with food, and we ate too much.  There were tacos and tostadas with an assortment of fillings and toppings.  I had at least four tostadas (crispy corn tortillas).  I topped them with guacamole, refried beans, "cotija" cheese, salsa, and "tinga", a shredded chicken dish.

The tostadas were yummy, although there were a couple of toppings I did not care to try... pickled cow's feet and octopus ceviche.

Alejandro was also enjoying the tostadas.

For a birthday it is traditional to serve tamales.  Pipo, his mother, and grandmother had been working all morning on them, and they were cooking in a large steamer.  Pipo asked who would like to test a "tamal" to see if they were done.  Alejandro volunteered me, and I was served a "tamal" filled with onions and strips ("rajas") of chile peppers.  

I unwrapped the corn husk in which it was steamed and dug in.  The others were teasing me that it was up to me to judge whether or not the tamales were fully cooked.  The corn-meal dough, or "masa", tasted cooked to me, but just to make sure, I had Alejandro taste it.  "Yes, it's done," he said.  I thought that it was one of the best tamales that I had ever eaten.  I was sorry that I had eaten so many tostadas, and didn't have room for more tamales.

Pipo kept offering me an alcoholic beverage, but I don't like beer, tequila or mezcal.  Then Pipo asked me if I like sweet drinks, and he prepared a blender full of a special concoction.  It is made with "creme de cacao" and "creme de menthe".  Chocolate syrup is swirled in the glass before serving.

It was very tasty, and I had two of them.

After dark we got in the car to make the journey back to Mexico City.  Fortunately, traffic was lighter, and it didn't take as long to return.

It was a very enjoyable day with good company and delicious food.